Emile augustin barbet



March 10, 1925' 1,529,233

E. A. BARBET PROCESS FOR CONTINUOUS RECTXFIGAZION OF LIQUID AIR OR OTHER LIQUEFIED GASES Filed Feb. 14 1921 5, Za MQQL ZM/Q Aifyfs Patented Mar. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ENHLE AUGUSTTN BARBET. F PARIS, FRANLE.

PROCESS FOR CONTINUOUS RECTIFICATION OF LIQUID AIR OR OTHER LIQUEFIED GASES.

Application filed February 14, 1921.

To all 2121mm if nm comv I'll."

Be it lil'l0\\;ll that I. EMILE Ai tlLSTlX BAR- BET, a citizen of the French Republic, and residing at Rue de lEchelle. Paris, France, '5 have invented certain new and useful Iniirovements in the Process for Continuous llectitication of Liquid Air or Other Liquefied Gases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the process of rectitgation of liquid air and its object is to obviate the loss of cold which takes place in the existing. processes and thus to simplify the means for carrying the process into effect by enabling the elah oi-ate and delicate auxiliary apparatus previously required to make good the loss of QOld to be dispensed with.

The process which will be described hereinafter effects a very great simplification of the usual process and therefore of the ap paratus for carrying it into effect owing to the fact that only a nitrogen ((iiilprcs'soi and its series of regcncrators are necessary. the complications due to the ncccssity of supplying additional cold in thc form of liquid air or nitrogen being aroidcd. The condition for successful working of thc ill!- Tiroved-proccss is that the compressor shall j 30 work at a higher pressurc than that hitherto employed.

The accompanyin drawing illustrates in elevation the iapparatus used in carry in: out the improved proccss \\ith the cxccptiou 35, 0f the usual accessories.

L AA is a rectifi ation column into \iliich liquid air is introduccd at about its iuid llOlgl'lt and in which the icctitication ol' the nitrogen is i-flected in the uppcr part A l 40 the (Ol'iniii while the rectification ol' oxygcii is eifect d in the base A ol' the column.

J is a ni rogen coniprcss i exhausting the gaseous rcctilicd nitrogen at the upper part t of the i'oliiiiiii A through thc pipes A", liquc fying column V. lit-at exchanger ll. J (titliiresses the nitro en and sends it into the eating coil of tho basc E of tlncolumn AA Where it is liquclicd by the cold ol' the pure oxygen in the bzisc. and at ih same in tiinc causes some rnpoi-iaatnui o. the oxy gen. The liquefied niiroccn is raised throu h the separator c, the heat -Xfihungci' R an to the inl t u at the to ot' the column AA owing to the pressure no to the (our prcssor J. A certain part of the liquid Serial No. 444.901.

nitro cii cutcring at u is raporizt J and cuters the pipe A: and follous the path just described. The liquid nitrogen entering at H serves as :i reflux of nitrogen to the nitroecu rcctit'ying plates in part A of the olumn.

The cmnprcssor J drives the gaseous Ilitlo gen under pressure through the coolOnK in nhich the heat due to its compression is Withdrawn. and then to the heat exiluiugci H where it is coolcd bv the gaseous nitro gen coming from A. The nitrogen vapour is then passed through the liquefying column V in which a certain proportion of tlugaseous nitrogen is liquefied.

The liquid nitrogcn produced in V pass-cs through the separator y and enters directly at the top of A as a reflux additional to thc reflux cnteriug at H.

The remaining portion of the COllllit'(-I'.tl but gascous nitrogen passes from Y to the engine .e which cliccts an adiabatic c\pau sion of thigas producing a fall in tcni cii turc of the gaseous nitrogen sullici nt to ause a liquctaction of l!'i% to 2 h, oi it \fil llllt'. it. i this additional cold produccd by thc cxpausion by the machine X of tinunliquclicd fraction of the t'Olllpltssi-il nitio gen which nialu-s good the unaroidablc hiss Of ("old which tahcs place in the pi'occss.

The expansion of the nitrogen in m 1H carried to a point such that the l)l't \tll't rciichc-l is that ncccssary to thc normal \Hll'hillt; ol' the ritilii'zition apparatus.

The li uid liilrogcn produced by thipansion ol thc fLuRttHtH nitrogen by thc cn gine pass s tog'cthcr with the gascous nitrogen to thc coil E. in \\hich thc lialzin c f the ga eous nitrogcii will be liqu licd.

Thc adiabatic cngiuc X may be i'cplaccd by a turbo-cnginc or ll tlll other kind of iiginc suitable for thc t-Zllllt. purpo c.

It. i piissililc to do cntircly away with an adiabatic cneinta and to effect the expansion without cucruy if the pressure in J is raised to :i Fiiiliuiently high value, for instance. Zt lcilogrannues. The cold produced by this txpansion without energycould also be utilized for more satisfactorily coolin; the gaseous nitrogen under pressure which is passed into V whereby a somewhat highcr rate of liquefaction would be produced therein. e,

The. above description of the carrying out of my process is by wey of illustration only,

zimy inipi'owtl proccss and the nit-ans for t'fllIXlllQ it into effect are capable of various modifications and I do not limit myt'lf to thus described but claim all such as onithlii (in; scope of the appended "lziinis Having n w Cl 'llbd rm invention, what I -iaini a ncw and clesiic to secure by Let- (i-IS lzlttmt Inil l ih' pro e f l' tlw continuous ltECtlfi- "(li it of l1 lll1l all \tlli fli t'HDlPllSQS 1W0- ilnt :n; an evt-ss of llqlll 'l nitrogen nit-iii of llltr l1 OmPl'Q9s r WOTlilflg at proui lri (.Vt'Ss of that necessary for the opeizltioli f th lwtlfi iatifin apparatus, tlic wt-cs f liquid nitr gcn produced forming :i lthtlHf of (Ultl units to make good loss of Hihl l the apparatus.

2. The process for the ntinuous rectification f liquid air as claimed in claim 1, \rhich compri cs submitting the porti n of lhe compressed nitrogen remaining unli uchell to :i liatmtic expansion. thcicby efl'ccting a fall in tempciaturc of thc r-Itlltl p rtion of th nitrogen huh fall in temperature pio ltlts th cxcc-s reserve f cohl units.

3' The pro ess for the continuous rec ificati n of liquid air as claimed in claim 1, in which the adiabatic expansion of the said portion of the nitrogen i carried to a point such that the pressurc reached is that nec- 'E-Sfll') to the normal working of thc rectitication apparatus t The process for the continuous rectifiwumn of liquid air which omprises pr0- lilltlll; an ex e s of liquid nitrog n by means of ll nmo -n ttlltll' l'ewit l' working at a presfi l' !ll 1 i-ss f that n ccssary for the open ati n of the ratificati n apparatus. and Sliivn'llllllig thc portion of thcompresscd Illtl'flflt'll hich lumulnS unliquctictl to adiailtl *\p:|llS wn with work: thcrelu fill GU,- in; a [all in temperature Of the Said ith n of tin nitiogen which fall in tPIDI IatUT plmitlf's the PM? lf-SQI Q f (Old llnlt/Si In tcstimonv whercot' I havc signed my nani to lllS specification EMILE AUGUSTIN BARF-ET 

